Sir Paul Nurse

Sir Paul Nurse. A pioneering geneticist and cell biologist, he is renowned for his fundamental discoveries concerning the control of the cell cycle. His identification of a key regulator, the cyclin-dependent kinase, earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001, which he shared with Leland H. Hartwell and Tim Hunt. Nurse has held prestigious leadership roles at major institutions including Cancer Research UK, The Rockefeller University, and the Francis Crick Institute, shaping the landscape of biomedical research.

Early life and education

Born in Norwich, he attended Harrogate Grammar School before pursuing higher education. He initially studied biology at the University of Birmingham, graduating with a bachelor's degree. His interest in research led him to the University of East Anglia, where he completed his PhD in 1973, investigating the role of amino acid transport in the fungus Coprinus cinereus. This early work provided a foundation in molecular genetics and experimental systems that would inform his later career.

Career and research

Nurse began his independent research career at the University of Edinburgh, later moving to the University of Sussex. His groundbreaking work utilized the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a model organism to identify genes controlling cell division. In 1987, he and his team isolated the human homolog of the key cell cycle regulator cdc2, proving its universal role from yeast to humans. He served as Director of Research at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, which later became part of Cancer Research UK. In 2003, he became President of The Rockefeller University in New York City, a position he held until 2010. He was instrumental in the founding and served as the first Director and Chief Executive of the Francis Crick Institute in London, a major biomedical discovery centre. His research has profoundly influenced understanding of cancer, a disease of uncontrolled cell proliferation.

Awards and honours

Nurse's contributions have been recognized with numerous international accolades. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1989 and served as its President from 2010 to 2015. He received the Royal Medal in 1995 and the Copley Medal in 2005. He was knighted in 1999 and appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2022. Foreign honours include the Legion of Honour from France and membership in the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has also received honorary degrees from institutions like the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.

Personal life

He is married to Anne Nurse, a former scientist. The couple has two daughters. An advocate for science and rationalism, he has presented television programmes such as BBC's "Horizon" and served on the Council for Science and Technology. He is a keen amateur pilot and gardener. His leadership extends to roles such as Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute and Chancellor of the University of Bristol.

Selected publications

Key papers include "Genetic control of cell size at cell division in yeast" in *Nature* and "The fission yeast cdc2+ gene product: a homolog of the S. cerevisiae CDC28 protein kinase" in *Molecular and Cellular Biology*. His Nobel lecture, "Cyclin dependent kinases and cell cycle control," was published in *Bioscience Reports*. He is also a co-author of the influential textbook *"The Cell Cycle: Principles of Control."*

Category:British geneticists Category:Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Category:Presidents of the Royal Society